Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been ordered to pay over $54,000 in attorney fees for violating Georgia’s Open Records Act, according to court documents. The ruling stems from Willis’ office failing to provide records requested by defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Michael Roman, a former campaign and White House aide to President Donald Trump. Roman was indicted alongside Trump in the ongoing Georgia election interference case brought by Willis in 2023.

This recent ruling marks another setback for Willis and her case against Trump and the other defendants. In December, she was disqualified from prosecuting the case involving Trump and 18 co-defendants accused of conspiring to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia. The Georgia Court of Appeals determined that her disqualification was necessary due to the “appearance of impropriety” linked to her previous relationship with Nathan Wade, a former special prosecutor on the case who resigned in October.

Willis has since filed an appeal with the Georgia Supreme Court, arguing that the court’s decision to disqualify her was based solely on an appearance of impropriety and lacked evidence of an actual conflict of interest or forensic misconduct.

In the court order issued on Friday, the judge noted that the DA’s office had been “openly hostile” to Merchant’s requests for documents, indicating a “lack of good faith” in handling her inquiries. As a result, Willis has 30 days to provide all requested records and pay $54,264 to Merchant, reflecting nearly 80 hours of work on the case.

Merchant had previously accused Willis’ office of withholding crucial documents related to Nathan Wade’s employment and requested records detailing how public funds were allocated by the DA’s office.

In a separate development, the Georgia Senate passed a bill in early March that could allow Trump and his co-defendants to seek reimbursement for their legal expenses. This legislation, which was approved unanimously, enables counties to cover attorneys’ fees and other legal costs in cases where a district attorney is disqualified due to misconduct, provided the case is dismissed.

Responding to the court order, attorney Merchant expressed her satisfaction on social media, stating, “Proud that we have judges willing to hold people in power accountable when they ignore the law!!!”

In her January appeal, Willis contended that “no Georgia court has ever disqualified a district attorney for the mere appearance of impropriety without the existence of an actual conflict of interest.” While the appeals court removed her from the case against Trump in December, it did not dismiss Trump’s indictment altogether. However, the ruling indicated that Willis and the assistant DAs in her office now have “no authority to proceed” with the case.

This ruling adds to a series of legal challenges faced by Willis. In September, a Georgia judge ruled against her in a separate open records lawsuit, denying a request to dismiss the case but allowing her to remain involved in her official capacity as district attorney. The lawsuit, which involved Merchant, alleged that Willis was concealing records related to a media monitoring firm allegedly funded with taxpayer money.